Cold Cash 123, the reigning world champion Quarter Horse, is likely to start his season at the Remington Park meet that opens Friday night. The 50-date season, which continues through May 28, will feature a record purse structure and a reduced takeout on trifectas.

Here's my race-by-race rundown of Friday's pick four at Aqueduct on March 2, 2012. I'm building my wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com.

This is precisely the time of year when the importance of first-level, two-turn allowances for 3-year-olds becomes magnified, most notably at a major track such as Fair Grounds. A proverbial jump off the television screen tends to earn an up-high mention in the “up-and-coming” or “sleeper” category for the Kentucky Derby, just below the confirmed candidates.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Pathfork was a disappointing sixth in his U.S. debut, the Grade 2 Arcadia Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 4.

Mistakes were made that day, trainer John Sadler said last weekend, and will not be repeated when Pathfork starts in a $63,000 allowance over a mile on turf on Friday. Expect Pathfork to race near the lead, and not behind horses, he said.

“We thought we fought the horse a little bit in the Arcadia, but this is more of a free-running horse,” Sadler said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Six new horses are in the lineup of 23 separately listed wagering interests in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens its three-day run Friday at noon Eastern.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Game On Dude will not defend his title in Saturday’s $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap and will make his next start in the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 31, trainer Bob Baffert said on Wednesday.

“He’s not running,” Baffert said. “He’s going to Dubai.”

Baffert said he may not have a runner in the Big Cap, a race he has won the last two years. Prayer for Relief, a three-time graded stakes winner last year, may also pass the race, he said. Baffert had until later on Wednesday morning to decide whether Prayer for Relief will start.

Comedero, who shipped to Oaklawn from Fair Grounds last weekend and won the $50,000 Nodouble, has now been penciled in for the $75,000 Hot Springs, a six-furlong race at Oaklawn on March 24.

Mark Valeski nearly aced his stakes and two-turn debut Saturday in the Risen Star, losing by a nose to El Padrino, but to trainer Larry Jones, that performance could wind up being a mere point of departure.

“I really do think he can improve,” Jones said Tuesday. “I do know when he was ready to go over to race Saturday, I looked at him and I thought, ‘Boy you’re still fat!’ In my opinion this race will tighten him up. I don’t think he’s peaked by any means.”

For most early season 3-year-olds, races offer an opportunity to learn something. That’s what happened with Summer Applause, who had raced on the lead when she impressively won a first-level allowance race Dec. 31 at Fair Grounds.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Pace makes Stay Put’s race, and it appears he could get some accommodating fractions Thursday in the eighth race at Oaklawn Park. He will meet five stakes winners in the 1 1/16-mile allowance, including the front-running Kate’s Main Man, sprint-to-route prospect Wild Jacob and the comebacking Stachys.